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12.20.2011

Our Post-Engagement Shoot

The pictures are in! After nearly two years of being married, we finally took our engagement shoot photos or as I like to call them, our post-engagement photos. If you read this blog often, you know that I had a plan for where to go and what to do when we finally took these photos. Then, right before we actually took them, I freaked out and scrapped the plan. After much discussion, A.P. and I came up with a list of places and then narrowed it down to a few. We ended up going to five places total, but this time we felt like the places we chose had more meaning than an ice cream shop, a bowling alley, and a park. : )

We met our photographer, Theresa Scarbrough, on a warm, autumn afternoon. One of the last of the season. First up, we went to North Park Village Nature Center. Located on Chicago's northwest side, this nature preserve, which is part of North Park University, feels as if you've stepped out of the city right into a secret forest, complete with a wetland, a prairie, and even deer! There's a number of trails that weave throughout the grounds, too. We picked this place for a couple of reasons. For one, we've gone there in the past since it's near our house. For another, it looked a lot like the place where we got engaged. We spent the bulk of our shoot here and got some amazing shots.

From there, we headed to my old apartment and the site of our very first date. We, of course, could only take pictures outside the apartment, but trust me when I tell you that though this was the shortest leg of the trip, it was also the most fun. The entire time we were taking pictures, this guy was sticking his head out of the window of an apartment across the street shouting, "Hey, take my picture!" It was hilarious. We didn't stay here long, but we for sure got a few cute photos.

After my old apartment, we did a quick outfit change and took some photos in front of our current apartment.

Then, we headed over to a laundromat near our house. The second time we hung out was in this laundromat. We had agreed to make each other mix CDs and for whatever reason, I couldn't email him the one I'd made. So, I called him up and told him I'd bike it over to him. At the time, he was getting ready to go on a business trip and was at his local laundromat washing what he needed to pack. I met him there and ended up helping him fold his clothes. While we were folding and talking, A.P. jokingly asked me if I'd miss him when he was on his trip. I said yes and he thought I was kidding (we'd only gone out on one date!) and I pretended I had been. Secretly, though, I really was going to miss him. I always think back on that moment and realize that's when I knew I really liked him. (Insert collective awwww here.) So, to the laundromat we went! And I'm glad we went there because these ended up being some of my favorite photos.

The last stop for us was the south loop, where we did one last outfit change and took some shots near the train tracks with the skyline in the background. We couldn't take the photos and not acknowledge the beautiful city in which we live.